Category: Writing

***I’m not getting anything for writing this review. When I started this process, I found little to help me decide on Reedsy. I feel it is important to share my experience. I cannot be held liable if your experience is not the same.

When I started writing The Haunting of Locker 31 last November, I assumed it would be like most of my writings. I would get it mostly done or have a very rough draft on my hands and then it would sit in storage on my computer forever. I’ve said before that there was a difference this time. Maybe it was maturity, maybe it was my husband always asking me what stage I was at, maybe it was the desire to actually see one of my dreams come to life, I don’t know. But I finished the first draft in January and I spent a few months figuring out the next step.

Obviously, I needed an editor. Kris and I researched, finding a lot of services, for lots of money all over the place. I knew I would have to pay money, but I didn’t want to have to pay that much money. So I looked to some experienced self-published authors for advice and I found myself on Joanna Penn’s website, The Creative Penn. She has an entire section of recommendations. That is where I first heard of Reedsy.

You can hire an editor, a designer, someone in publicity or marketing, someone to translate your book, a ghostwriter or a website designer. Reedsy allows self-publishing authors to connect with freelance professionals.

I could navigate the website easily and found a plethora of editors. I narrowed down the search with a couple clicks in the filter. Part of my problem before Reedsy was not knowing how to solicit the services of an editor. Reedsy made it simple with a form that I filled out. I put my category, a summary of my book, how many words and what sort of services I was looking for. I even put my price range. I could select 5 editors whose profiles I liked and email them all at the same time. They then had so long to respond to me with offers. (It is important to know that Reedsy charges a fee that is included in the agreement/contract between you and the freelance professional you have chosen to work with. Both my fees were around $50. Not horrible.)

I found my editor in two days. She did everything I asked for and more. She was polite; she knew what she was talking about and did not seem to care that I was a first-time author. I hope she and I can work together again.

The process for the cover designer was the same. I had to find several covers of already published books to send to them so they knew what I wanted. Again, I found my cover designer in just a few quick days. And I loved working with her. (Not going to lie, her covers to stood out as some of the best, but she introduced herself as a fellow coffee addict so I knew it was meant to be.)

It is recommended by Reedsy that you keep all communication within their system. I imagine that if you form a contract with someone, Reedsy will then be able to help if something were to happen with your professional. This did not happen to me, so I can’t speak to that personally. I can say that one reason I went with both my ladies was because they would not charge me full price upfront. We agreed on so much up front and then the rest when they completed the product. I would recommend that you do the same if you set up a contract with anyone. Reedsy has page about project protection.

The coolest part about this was that both my editor and cover designer are in England. Which isn’t surprising since Reedsy is a British company. .If you are more comfortable working with someone in America or wherever you are from, you could probably find them. I did not feel that I needed to do that. Personal choice.

Another impressive feature of Reedsy is their book formatting tool. You have the option to write your novel directly on there. Or, I copied and pasted each chapter in. I was able to format my book for both ebook and paperback this way. And it was free! I follow a couple Facebook Writer Groups and people are always looking for someone to do that for them. Why pay someone when you can just do it yourself?

I mentioned this in a previous post that I have submitted my book to Reedsy Discovery. This program is $50 and I will receive a review. The book may appear in a newsletter that is sent out to Reedsy Discovery subscribers. At the time of this post, I have not received my review or seen what the effects of going through this process is. So I am not willing to give my opinion on it yet.

Reedsy has some other cool features, like a blog with helpful tips, free courses and a YouTube Channel. All designed to help you be successful. In their FAQ section, they break down the various services you might look for. This was helpful when I started the process. I wasn’t sure what sort of editing I needed. (I needed all the editing.)

Overall, I would recommend Reedsy to the self-publisher. Everything is there for you and it is easy to manage. I found amazing people to work with. I hope you do too!

With less than a month until The Haunting of Locker 31 is officially on the market, I have invested a great deal of time in setting up various author profile pages. I have a Facebook Page, a Goodreads page, Amazon Author page, a Reedsy Discovery page, and this blog.

I needed a head shot to go on these pages. Luckily for me, my husband of endless hobbies is an amateur photographer and agreed to take my picture.

At the edge of our community, there is an old graveyard. The rumors of this graveyard being haunted have been around forever. In 1971 they had to move this graveyard to build the reservoir. And if you know anything about what caused unrest in poor ghost souls, one of the many claims is the moving of a body.

Honestly, this is probably a better spot to be stuck in if you are going to be stuck anywhere forever. To the east, you see nothing but lake and the south and west is beautiful mountain range and trees from the river. This made it a great place to get a few pictures.

I grew up hearing all sorts of ghost stories about the old cemetery. It was the brave thing to do to sneak into the graveyard at night. Which, of course, was against the rules.

We set right to business, taking a bunch of pictures from different spots. Kris made sure to avoid having headstones with visible names in the picture. I fixed a few decorations that had fallen over in the wind and we did our best to pay our respect.

Some of the sites are from the 1800s. There was one that I can’t get my mind off of.

Unknown woman.

She died in the 1800s.

One story you hear about the ghosts of this graveyard is a woman in all white walking around and crying. Is that her? Is she crying because no one knows who she is? I wonder what happened to her. How old was she? Why did no one know who she was? From what I know of this town that no longer exists, they all knew each other. So for a woman to just appear and somehow die… that just seems so odd to me. Or did they just find her somewhere?

The day was clear and sunny, a slight breeze blowing in from the East. I stood still, waiting and listening to see if I heard the woman in white while Kris played with the camera. She didn’t speak to me while we were there.

I told Kris that there could be a story from that gravesite. And I’ve been mulling it over in my head ever since. It’s even made it into my book. Unknown woman. Grave site.

I asked Kris if we could go back one night and look for the ghost. He said no. Mostly because the sign says the place is closed at dark. But also, he doesn’t believe in ghosts.

Yet.

Tag lines are seriously the hardest thing to write. I’ve spent the last three hours looking at tag lines of all my books on my bookshelf. Maybe a third of them didn’t even have a tagline. Many of them had a snippet of a review. I’m an unknown. I don’t have the luxury of a reviewer yet. (I have been looking into this thing on Reedsy that might help with that!) I also looked at taglines on Amazon, focusing specifically on young adult novels.

You need this tagline to be intriguing without giving too much away. You need it to be short, direct but still making sense. Oh sure, that will be easy.

This is what I noticed about taglines, those that had them anyway. They were short, direct and often a question. “What if…” statements were popular. They were successful though, I have added many to my to-be- read list.

I have come up with two and am mulling them over. (Also known as waiting for Kris to get home from work so I can ask his opinion. And sending out a couple texts to people who have read it to see what they think.)

The back cover summary is the next step to selling my book. That was pretty easy to compose this weekend. It helps that I’ve had to do my “elevator speech” to everyone who’s asked about it since I started writing it. Here is it.

“’There are some weird stories about that locker. They rarely let kids have it.’

After her mother commits a terrible crime, Misti is sent to live with her estranged Aunt and Uncle. Welcomed with open arms, Misti finds herself in a safe place for the first time since she can remember. She struggles to navigate life around her cousin, Penny, new friends and the handsome boy in her art class. On top of all of this, they assign Misti Locker 31, the haunted locker. Misti dismisses the stories. Ghosts aren’t real. 

When her things are arranged for her classes, Misti suspects she is being pranked. When her lock is spinning, she blames lack of sleep.

When a 20-year-old diary appears not only giving life to the odd occurrences at the locker but brings them to her home, she runs out of explanations. With the help of her friends, Misti sets out to solve The Haunting of Locker 31.” 

I’m nervous. The cover is outstanding, just needs a tagline. A tag line seems to be just as important as the cover being pretty. Then the back cover needs to sell the rest. Once they start to read, I am confident that they will keep reading. It is just to get them to do that initial purchase.

What is that cliche of a saying? The devil is in the details? 

Has anyone every recorded or considering recording one of their books? In all the posts/books/videos I watch, the “experts” recommend recording an audio book to increase your sales. I want to increase my sales when I publish. Which is very, very soon.

Last night, I started recording my book. I am happy to report that it has gone through professional editing and is in the hands of my final betareaders. I have gotten some very positive feedback and am very excited to publish soon.

My cover design is done, and I am so pleased. I could never in a million years have come up with or executed what my cover designer did. She is amazing.

Back to the original idea for this post. Recording the audiobook as been a mix of frustrating and fun. Kris built a tiny sound room down in the basement we sound proofed with cheap fabric and foam pieces. Inside it is so quiet! Perfect for recording.

I would prefer to record in the morning. I am more alert and able to speak for longer periods without stumbling over simple words like the or terminal. The problem? These three. 

They have become especially attached to me since I’ve been stuck at home since March 13th. Yes, I’ve gone out for groceries and some outside activities like walking or biking. But 98 percent of the time, I’m at home with them. And they want to be in the same room as me. Right now, they are all in here, napping.

In the mornings though, they all come downstairs and the second I close myself into the little room, it is like I have disappeared and all three spend the entire time I am in the room attempting to break in. If I didn’t want kids before, these last few months with my 3 fur children have solidified that kids are a no go for me. Mama needs her space.

Kris locked the animals away in our room with him when he got home and I could record the first three chapters last night. The goal is to keep it up until it is completely recorded. Editing has been surprisingly easy. I watched a few YouTube videos that offered suggestions on what to do and found this one that really helped me. If you are considering narrating audio books at all, I would suggest her videos. They are so helpful! Become an Audiobook Narrator.

I am hoping to launch my book at the end of this month. My family has mostly finished reading and given me some outstanding feedback for last-minute changes. Just have to finish this audiobook…does someone want to borrow three adorable, not annoying at all, animals for a few weeks?